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1 killed in Robinson Twp. crash

(UPDATE: Wednesday 4:25 p.m.) A Pennsylvania woman was killed and two people were sent to the hospital after a two-vehicle crash in Robinson Township on Tuesday night.

Tribune Staff

robinson township

Jul 3, 2013

Police said Betty Beaver, 78, was killed in the collision.

Her husband, Carl Beaver, 81, was driving a van west on Osborn Street and ran the stop sign at 104th Avenue at 9:14 p.m. Their van was "T-boned" by a pickup truck driven by Gumesind Mancilla, 52, of West Olive. The truck was southbound on 104th.

Officials said the Beavers, of Chambersburg, Pa., were visiting their daughter in the Grand Haven area.

The collision forced the Beavers' van to roll over into a stand of trees in the southwest corner of the intersection. It came to rest upside down.

The Beavers were pinned in their vehicle and were extricated by Robinson Township firefighters. Betty Beaver was pronounced dead at the scene.

Carl Beaver suffered serious injuries and was taken to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, said Sgt. Chris Koster of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department. Mancilla suffered minor injuries and was transported to North Ottawa Community Hospital.

All three people were wearing seat belts, Koster said.

Emergency helicopters were requested to transport Carl Beaver to the hospital, but they are unable to fly because of the weather. It was raining at the time.

Koster said the incident remains under investigation.

Comments

It's very sad. I've lived close to that intersection for 18 years. I heard the emergency vehicles going by then falling silent as they reached the intersection. This is the second fatality I can recall there. I believe it's just a result of poor driving. I don't think adding a signal, 4-way stop or some such thing is going to fix stupid drivers. That intersection is very clear in all directions. It is clearly marked w/ "stop ahead" and very visible stop signs. Far more accidents happen just west of that intersection where the road makes a 90 degree turn south onto 112th. Folks do not slow down to the posted 15 mph and run off the road smashing into the trees. Also folks heading east on Lincoln seem to have a hard time making the 90 degree turn north onto 112th. The gentleman that lives directly at the end of Lincoln ended up landscaping w/ large boulders to stop the drivers from hitting his garage anymore. I think the main factor in these accidents is excessive speed. Folks just simply need to slow down, drive the posted speed limits and pay attention to warning signs. I think it's all about personal driver responsibility. Obviously, the driver in this accident was not paying attention by running a stop sign. So very sad someone had to die because of it.

I frequent that intersection, the people driving on 104th travel fast. I think the traffic needs to slow down along that road, putting in a 4 way stop would at least break up the speed. People need to pay attention to the road signs. Sad for the loss of life...

Having grown up out there, I believe the answer to this problem would be to have rumble strips across the road approaching the stop signs. They have these on M-20 and they really make it obvious that you are approaching the stop.

Thanks Wingmaster. I hate them too but I have to admit, the noise does grab your attention when you roll over them. They're also not such a visually annoying sight in the middle of the country as a blinking light would be but they would be equally effective IMO.

I do not know this specific intersection but I do think that 4-way stops and blinking lights do help. It was raining pretty heavily last night when I was out driving and I'm not making an excuse for the driver who went through the stop sign, he or she should have been aware of their surroundings, but if they weren't familiar with the area, a 4-way stop OR blinking light would have caused most likely one of the cars to at least slow down or stop. Thoughts/prayers to the family and also the truck driver since he was doing nothing wrong and probably feels awful.

I live near by and we cringe everytime we hear the loud boom of an accident. Last night we knew it was not going to be just a small fender bender. And we were right once we approached the scene. We believe that intersection should be made into a 4-way. Yes, people do need to pay attention but at least the 4-way would cut down on the speed on 104th. It may not stop accidents from happening but it should cut down on high-speed impacts. It will give everyone a chance to hesitate before they pull out. I know that when I am at a 4-way stop and a car is approaching and it does not appear to be slowing down I wait before I pull out. I believe that the majority of people do this. Just look at the intersection of 144th & Lincoln, there hasn't been a fatality there since the 4-way was put in. Gravel trucks travel 104th daily and we fear the day that someone pulls out in front of one of them going 55mph.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved. It was a sad night.